A Dozen Donuts
by ReadingFox
Summary: When the local Donut joint gets shut down, Our favorite Cape Buffalo must find a new place to get his sugar fix. He finds it, and something else too.
A Dozen donuts

Another morning in Zootopia, another day of crime to conquer. Of course, for the chief of Precinct 1, that day couldn't start without his usual morning treat.

Which meant today was off to a bad start. He had arrived at his usual donut joint only to find it closed for renovations, something about burst water pipes. However, there was a flyer on the door, advertising a new bakery less than a block over.

"Brush Family Bakery huh?" he mumbled to himself. "Hmph, just as long as I get my donuts."

Bogo arrived at the bakery and couldn't help but gape in shock. The building was obviously designed for larger animals, but it had apparently had some rather extensive renovations done. Two doors were set into the building, one for large and regular sized animals, and one for the tiniest of customers. Signs in the windows delcared that the business was welcome to all animals; big or small, predator or prey. And apparently this place offered a 25% discount to police officers who showed their badge when ordering! What a plus! The scent of fresh bread wafted out to the sidewalk from a slightly opened window, enticing Bogo's senses. He got out of his car and the larger door opened, a large tiger leaving with a box clutched in his paws.

"Thanks a lot Ms. Brush! Miss G will go nuts for these eclairs!" he called out to the owner.

"No problem Ted! Keep working on those steps, y'hear?" A feminine voice replied from within. Bogo shrugged at the little interchange and stepped inside, looking around the shop. Shelves of fresh bread were everywhere, some sealed in plastic bags, others just simply resting in the open. A large display cabinet was at the front counter, filled with all manner of pastries and sweet treats. There, he saw his prize; a massive selection of donuts, in nearly every flavor imaginable! He made a beeline for the display, wondering just what he should get.

"Anything I can help you with dear?" the voice from before called his attention. Standing behind the counter was a slender vixen, a blue apron tied around her neck and hips and a warm smile on her face. Bogo cleared his throat and straightened up. No chief of police should be caught looking undignified.

"Er, yes ma'am. I'm getting some donuts for my precinct and-" he found himself cut off as the back door to the kitchen opened and three other animals spilled out. First was an elegant, aristocrating looking polar bear girl of some fifteen years. A young rhino on the cusp of puberty was hot on her heels, clutching the hoof of a tiny little gazelle fawn, her horns just starting to come in.

"Bye mom!" the rhino said, pulling the fawn onto his shoulders. "See you after school!"

Mom? Who were they talking about? There wasn't a single animal of their species around. Unless...

"Bye kids, have a good day!" Miss Brush waved. "Danny, remember to hold Ellie's hoof when you set her down!" The bell jingled as the children left and Bogo was left stunned. An interspecies family? Even in Zootopia it was rare, but even rarer was the fact she had taken in predator children as well as prey! How had she wrangled that one? Ah, no matter. The children seemed happy and in good health, so it really had nothing to do with him.

"Sorry about that sir." Ms. Brush apologized. "You know how kids are sometimes. Anyway, you were saying you wanted some donuts?" Bogo gave his head a little shake to snap himself back into focus.

"Yes, that's right ma'am. I'll need about two dozen."

"Two dozen donuts it is!" The vixen chirped, pulling on a plastic glove and popping open a pair of boxes. "I got about a dozen varieties here, so is two of everything alright?"

"That should be fine. How much will it be? I'm guessing around twenty dollars?"

"Nope. Donuts are fifty cents a piece, plus your cop discount...you'll be lucky if you go over ten bucks." Ms. Brush finally surfaced, both boxes full and shut tight. She twitched an ear at the buffalo, her mouth set in a little smile as she rang up the purchase at her till. "I think other places charge way too much for their goods, trying to make a ton of cash. But I'm not in this for the green, I just want to share a bit of tastiness with the world."

Bogo felt a his lips lift in a rare smile back at her. What a nice fox. No schemes, no hustling, just an honest, hardworking animal. And such a cheap price too! He was definitely coming back. He dropped a twenty on the counter with a nod and started to walk off with his boxes, but Ms. Brush called him.

"Hey, officer! Your change!"

"Keep the tip." He called back. As he drove away he could see the vixen in his rearview mirror, her face set in a beaming smile.

"Oh...Em...Goodness! These are _**not**_ the usual donuts we get!"

"I know! These are so much better. You can tell they're fresh too; they don't have that frozen-then-fried taste like the last place."

"Any more of the raspberry frosted ones left?"

Bogo could hear the ruckus at the front desk from his office. It seemed the new donuts were a smash hit. Clearly that vixen knew what she was doing with her baking. He was just about to get back to his paperwork when the intercom on his desk buzzed.

"Chief? We have a fox at the front counter asking for you. She says you forgot something at her shop this morning." Bogo paused a moment. He hadn't forgotten anything. What could she want?

"Send her up Clawhauser."

The door to his office slowly opened and the face of Ms. Brush poked in.

"Sorry to bother you at work...Chief? Huh, I didn't think you were any ordinary cop." She was smiling, a little nervously, but still smiling. Bogo let himself smile back to help her relax.

"Clawhauser said you were bringing me something I forgot? I don't recall forgetting anything."

"Sure you did.." she pulled a light blue box from behind her back, her smile turning into a bright grin. "You left an extra ten bucks on my counter, but that was way too much for a tip. Plus, I figured you wouldn't get a taste for yourself with all the guys down there, so I brought what you paid for." The box was set on his desk and the top pulled open to reveal the treasure within. Twelve perfect donuts, some topped with icing and sprinkles, others merely glazed, yet they were all perfect.

"Well...Thank you very much Ms. Brush, But why not just keep the tip?"

The vixen shrugged and gave a little smile. If Bogo didn't know better, he would have sworn he saw a faint blush under her fur.

"Maybe I just wanted to say hi." She replied. "Anyway, enjoy the donuts Chief. I gotta go." And with that, she waltzed out his door.

For a while Bogo sat motionless. She had just wanted to say hi? Awfully far to go to just drop off some essentially free donuts. But Bogo prided himself on being able to sniff out a lie, and she hadn't told a single one. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt (a first when dealing with a fox that wasn't Nick Wilde) and plucked up a donut before settling down to his paperwork. The work of a Police Chief was never done...

Two weeks later, Bogo was just about to head home for the night when Clawhauser burst into his office looking frantic.

"Chief! Chief! It's a disaster! It's just awful!" Bogo was on his feet instantly. Was there another Nighthowler incident? A murder? Unfortunately the cheetah was still babbling, most of it incomprehensible.

"Clawhauser! Calm down and tell me what the issue is. Slowly."

"Right, sorry sir." Clawhauser took a breath and tried to focus. "Okay, so I was doing dispatch as usual right? And this call comes in that there's been a break in."

"Oookay, so what makes this such a disaster?"

"It was at that bakery we get our donuts from!" wailed the cheetah. "The windows are shattered, everything's a mess, and they took a crowbar to her oven! Poor Felicity!" Bogo's heart dropped a couple centimeters. Over the weeks, he had begun talking to the vixen more, learning about her odd little family and herself. She had lost her parents at a young age and had been adopted by a hippo, who had taught her about tolerance and acceptance and inspired her to help out as many lost children as she could. He learned that she had 5 children in total; her oldest son Jack, a sturdy kangaroo who had moved out to become a farmer in the Burrows, the three he had met on that first day in the bakery, and a teeny tiny infant otter named Will she had found abandoned in a dumpster. He learned she had fought to keep them all and raised them as a single mother on a shoestring budget, often reduced to sidewalk bake sales to make enough money to buy dinner until one banker had given her a chance and let her take out a loan to start her bakery. He had developed a liking for the sweet hearted fox and the thought of anyone hurting her or those kids was a frightening one.

"Was anyone hurt?" he demanded. Clawhauser shook his head.

"No, thank heavens, but her kids are pretty shook up. The younger ones anyway. What do we do chief? We may have just lost our donut connection!"

"Radio ahead and tell them I'm on my way. I want pawprints, evidence, testimonies. This is more than likely a hate based crime, so high priority protocol." In moments, he was out the door and in his car, driving to the shop.

When he pulled up, he could see two squad cars parked out front, lights flashing. The storefront was a mess; glass littered the sidewalk, bags of bread were strewn about, their contents stomped and trampled. Felicity was there, surrounded by her family and trying desperately to soothe the bawling Will while talking to Officer Delgato. Elise was holding little Ellie and had one arm around Danny, trying to offer what comfort she could.

"Delgato!" Bogo barked as he came out of his car. "What have we got so far?"

"Well, from what we can gather, the perp broke in through the windows and just started smashing the place up sir. The stock is destroyed, the display cabinet is a mess and the oven is dinged up from a crowbar, but is still operational."

"Suspects?"

Delgato pointed to one of the cruisers, where a large wolf could be seen wearing a muzzle in the backseat.

"Perpetrator. Seems the boy there heard the noise and went downstairs to try and save the shop. He had him pinned down when we arrived." Delgato nodded towards Danny. "Not bad for a thirteen year old kid."

"I couldn't let some jerk destroy our business. Mom's worked too hard for it!" Snapped Danny. "and I'm not a kid, I'm a teenager!" Felicity turned to him with an exasperated look.

"Danny, please. Now is not the time. Look, just...Take Will and go up to the apartment. I'll be up as soon as I finish talking to the police." She handed the sniffling baby to the young rhino and waited for the kids to be out of sight.

"I'm so sorry about that. Danny has a bit of a temper and a strong protective streak."

"Not a problem Miss Brush." Bogo replied "In fact, it's not a bad thing to have. It's how most good cops are made. Anyway, about your shop; did you want to press charges? It sounds like he did some major damage."

"Yeah...It's going to be a rough couple of weeks for us. And I can't afford a laywer to fight for me in court." The vixen seemed to wilt, her ears and tail drooping. "Thank god for insurance coverage." Delgato knelt down to place a paw on her shoulder, smiling reassuringly.

"Hey now, don't get gloomy. You and your kids are still safe and I've got a confession on tape from the perp. Besides, you're the lady who makes our donuts! Do you really thing cops would leave their supplier out in the cold? Don't worry Miss Brush, we got your back."

Felicity invited Bogo in for a cup of tea once Delgato left to bring the perp to the precinct for booking, claiming it was just to discuss the case. In truth, he just wanted to make sure she was okay. It was almost midnight when he finally decided to leave, but he stopped at the door. Something in him didn't want to go.

"Miss Brush?" he asked, hoof still on the door handle.

"Yes Chief Bogo?"

"I was just wondering...would you consider...I mean, I know you've been through a lot tonight, but if it would help you to cheer up...I'd like to take you out for coffee tomorrow."


End file.
